Tops at the Box Office: Apes gets it's paws on #1

1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes- $54M
It appears that a decade was long enough for people to forget Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes, providing enough distance that nobody related this prequel with that critically bashed film. Apes exceeded analyst expectations to the tune of the 5th highest grossing August debut ever, and an opening that far surpasses that of month's presumed champion, Cowboys & Aliens. By comparison, Burton's film opened at a superior $68M, but word of mouth was so lousy that any hopes of a franchise were dashed pretty quickly. That doesn't appear to be the case here, and you can bet we'll see more simian uprisings in the future.

2. The Smurfs- $21M/$76.2M
Upon adjustment, The Smurfs fell just short of Cowboys & Aliens for the top spot last week, but by dipping only 41% it moves well ahead of Jon Favreau's genre blending flick. Expect it to hang around over the slow upcoming weeks and surpass the $100M mark.
3. Cowboys & Aliens- $15.7M/$67.4M
If the thought of James Bond and Indiana Jones narrowly besting a nest of little blue mini-trolls wasn't bad enough, then this week might be enough to cause both to retire outright. C&A dipped 57% and is now likely to pull a weaker final total than The Smurfs, crushing any possible sequel hopes if there ever was one.
4. The Change-Up- $13.5M
Well, the jury appears to be out on Ryan Reynolds, as the summer of audience discontent with the actor lurches to a close. The Change-Up becomes the first major R-rated comedy of the summer to fall flat on it's face, not even holding a candle to lesser flicks like Friends with Benefits. Bateman can at least out the success of Horrible Bosses, but the deadweight of Green Lantern's flop hangs heavy on Reynolds' back. I'll be curious to see if this affects any of the many movies he has on the way.
5. Captain America: The First Avenger- $13M/$143M
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2- $12.2M/$343M
7. Crazy, Stupid, Love- $12.1M/$42.2M
Held strong with only a 37% drop, meaning it should easily surpass it's $50M budget even without the benefit of foreign receipts.
8. Friends with Benefits- $4.7M/$48.5M
9. Horrible Bosses- $4.62M/$105M
The second and far more successful of Jason Bateman's comedies had the strongest hold of the week, dropping only 35%. 
10. Transformers: Dark of the Moon- $3.02M/$344M